Double acting electric driving and switching arrangement for toy vehicles



Feb. 2, 1960 R. REISER 2,923,092

- DOUBLE ACTING ELECTRIC DRIVING AND SWITCHING ARRANGEMENT FOR TOYVEHICLES Filed Nov. 26, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTUR R ado/f R6256)"ATTKSV Feb. 2, 1960 R. REISER 2,923,092

DOUBLE ACTING ELECTRIC DRIVING AND SWITCHING ARRANGEMENT FOR TOYVEHICLES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 26. 1956 i t; :51 Q 0 6 n r 1 4 W WE 9 w m i .I F q o w a m m 6 m & I H I IM IHI I q 5 5 n 8 E l: J

INVENTOP Rudolf Revel" :operatedcontrol device.

United States Patent DOUBLE ACTING ELECTRIC DRIVING AND SWITCHINGARRANGEMENT FOR TOY VEHICLES Rudolf Reiser, Nurnberg, GermanyApplication November 26, 1956, Serial No. 624,331

, Claims priority, application Germany November 24, 1955 2 Claims. (Cl.46244) operating current is fed by means of electric wires to thedriving motor ,firmly mounted in the toy. For carrying out controlfunctions a step-by-step switch is located in the toy and, on therotation of this switch, different control operations are initiated bymeans of cams or eccentrics or even by a contact drum. The step-by-stepmovements are effected in the known constructions by the armature of aparticularly strong and current-consuming .electromagnet in view of thenecessary control forces, which electromagnet is energized from thesource of currentover additional leads. The step-by-step electricswitching mechanism constructed in this manner, which is similar to thatused in electric railways, is very expensive to produce and ofconsiderable weight, which may be advantageous in the case of railwaysbut is nevertheless a disadvantage in the case of railless toy Vehicles.Another serious disadvantage is the necessity of providing electrictransmission means with more than two wires,

. all the more since, particularly in the case of battery drive,

current superimpositions are practically impossible to effect, .and alsomany contact, insulation and soldering .points are necessary both in the.toy and also in the hand The known constructions of :this type .of toycould not be introduced on the-market on account of their high cost ofproduction and their great sensitivity and also.

could not be mass-produced, although the particularly great fascinationand unlimited possibilities of such toys were very well known.

The invention sets out to overcome these objections and difficultiesinherent in the known constructions and to produce a driving andswitching arrangement especially for an electrical remote controlledtoy, which is so designed that an electric switching magnet or otheradditional electrical equipment is rendered absolutely unnecessary andwherein the remote transmission means are restricted to an ordinarycommercial two-strand cord.

It is, therefore, the object of the invention to provide a double-actingdriving and switching arrangement for toy vehicles, and especially forland, water and aircraft simulating toys provided with remote control.

Hence, the invention is based on the idea of employing an electricdriving motor already existing in the electric toy, at the same time asa switching motor, for example by utilizing a counter-torque forproviding the power for the switching arrangement in the form of astepwheel.

In putting the idea into effect this can be attained,

2,923,092 Patented Feb. 2, 1960 for example in the case of a toyvehicle, by so arranging the housing of an electric motor in the toy sothat it is not rigid but rotatably mounted preferably in a ball hearingon a drive pinion side and in a trunnion coaxial with the armature shafton the opposite side and affording an angle of oscillation of only aboutto the housing to be sufficient for the housing to move through in orderto efiect a switching operation.

According to another feature incorporated in the inventive idea, namelyto use the driving motor also as a switching motor, the motor can bearranged in a particularly advantageous manner so that the housing ofthe motor does not rotate in a stationary position but the whole motorcarries out a relative swinging movement.

Other features and characteristics of the invention are explained in thedescription of the drawings which illustrate only by way of example butwithout any restriction thereto preferred forms of construction of adoubleacting electric driving and switching arrangement provided in aremote controllable toy vehicle in the form of a motor car. In thedrawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a double-acting electric driving andswitching arrangement with rotatable motor housing;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on line I1IIII of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the double-acting electric driving andswitching arrangement, with the motor being pivota'ole in a cradle orstirrup;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of Fig. 4, and

Fig. 6 is a cross-section on line VIVI of Fig. 4 with the swing stirrupin vertical position.

As can be seen from Figs. 1 to 3, the whole driving and switchingarrangement is mounted on a base plate 1 in bent-up lateral flaps ofwhich a housing 2 of an electric motor with armature shaft is mounted insuch a manner that it is rotatable on one side in a ball bearing 3 andon the other side by means of a journal pin 4 coaxial with the armatureshaft. A drive pinion 5 imparts its torque through an intermediate wheel6 to a toothed wheel 7 which is rigidly connected with a driven runnerwheel 8. The motor housing 2 carries a crank pin 9 on which a drivingrod 11) is mounted which is slidably guided in longitudinal direction atits free end in a slot provided in a bent-up fiap 11 of the baseplate 1. For the purpose of limiting the control movement, the end ofthe driving rod 10 has a recess 12 which in moving from one end positionto the other allows a step wheel to be turned through one tooth. Thisturning movement is effected by a blade spring 14 constructed like apawl and riveted on the driving rod 10. A toothed step wheel 13 isfreely rotatable on a bolt 15 riveted on the base plate 1. A tensionspring 16 riveted on the base plate 1 serves for arresting the stepwheel 13. The step wheel 13 has an eccentrically arranged pin 17 whichis connected with a cross-member 19 by means of a steering rod 18.

Fig. 1 shows the position of the steering mechanism for straight aheadtravel. By means of the step wheel 13, which is provided. with foursteps or teeth, the following steering positions are set in succession:straight ahead, right turn, straight ahead, left turn. in Fig. 2 thecondition for straight ahead travel is indicated by solid arrows. Aswill be apparent therefrom, the drive pinion 5 of the motor rotates inclockwise direction and the counter-torque acting on the housing 2presses the driving rod 10 into its forward end position. A momentarypolarity reversal of the motor first causes a momentary change in thedirection of rotation of the housing 2 to the direction indicated by thedotted arrow and results in the driving rod 1? being forcibly broughtback into its other end position and consequently the turning of thewill only act as a driving motor. a

From the above detailed description of the invention,

step wheel 13 by one tooth. When the polarity reversal is released theinitial position is reestablished.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 4 to 6, the motor of the double-actingelectric driving and switching arrangestirrup 20 is oscillatably mountedin lateral bent-up flaps.

of the base plate 1. The swing stirrup 20 carries below the pivot pointa crank pin 9 to which the driving rod 10 is hinged. The pivot pin 22serves at the same time as journal for the intermediate wheel 6permanently meshing with the drive 'pinion 5 of the motor. The drivingrunner wheel 8 is driven by the intermediate wheel 6 and the gear wheel7 which is connected with the runner wheel.

This arrangement operates in the following manner:

When the current is switched on for rotating the drive pinion 5 incounterclockwise direction, this pinion rolls on the intermediate wheel6 which, due to the startingup resistance, must beconsidered asstationary at first. The motor, after planetary movement around theintermediate wheel 6 in the direction indicated by the dashed arrow,assumes the extreme or end position determined by the recess 12 in thedriving rod 10. Only then does the vehicle start moving, theintermediatewheel 6 and its other extreme or end position, whichmovement, in-

dicated by the upper arrow, turns the step wheel one tooth through theintermediary of the driving rod 10. Thereby the advantageous conditionis established that the direction in which the motor swings and thedirection of rotation of the intermediate wheel 6 still maintained bythe movement of the vehicle are the same, which has a very favorableeffect from the point of view of forces. On the polarity reversal beingremoved, the pinion 5 brings the motor back into its initial position,when it 1. A double acting driving and steering arrangement for remotelycontrolled toy vehicles, comprising in combination a base plate, areversible electric motor including a housing enclosing an armaturehaving a shaft carrying at one end a drive pinion, mounting meansjournaling said armature shaft on said base plate transversely of thedirection of normal travel of said toy vehicle, vehicle propelling meansoperatively connected to said drive pinion, step-by-stepsteeringoperating, meanson said base plate, a driving rod operativelyconnected to said steering-operating means, said driving rodbeingpivotally connected to said mounting means eccentric of saidarmature shaft whereby reversal of said motor imposes a counter-torqueon said mountingmeans to cause reciprocation of said driving rod andactuation of said step-by-step steering-operating means, the mountingmeans comprising a motor housing rigidly mounted in a .U-

shaped stirrup oscillatable about two pivot pins mounted on the baseplate, and an intermediate Wheel is freely rotatable on one of the twopivot pins in such a manner that the drive pinion on the armature shaftrollson said inga housing enclosing an armature having a shaft carryingat one end adrive pinion, mounting means journaling said armature shaft,on said base plate transversely of the direction of normal travel ofsaid toy vehicle, vehicle propelling means operatively connected to saiddrive pinion, step-by-step steering-operating means on said base plate,a driving rod operatively connected 'to'said steeringoperating means,said driving rod being pivotally con- ,nected to said. mounting meanseccentric of said arma- 950,224 1,587,645 Hicguet June 8, 1926 2,002,793Park May 28, 1935. 2,316,570 Dunham Apr. 13, 1943 2,320.306 Rumbaugh May25, 1943 2,390,812 Snyder Dec. 11, 1945 2,488,464 Arpin Nov. 15, 19492,742,735 Sommerhofl Apr. 24, 1956 i FOREIGN PATENTS 607,346 GreatBritain Aug. 30, 1948 ture shaft whereby reversal ofrsaid motor imposesa counter-torque on said mountingmeans to cause trecillatable U-shapedstirrup carryingtan eccentrically arranged crank pin to which saiddriving rod is pivoted for transmitting oscillating movements of thestirrup.

Re ferences Cited in the file of this patent 'UNITED STATES PATENTSDickinson Feb. 22, 1910

